Remembrance

Things to remember:

We had our home teachers over last night. They asked the kids what they are thankful for. Danika pops up quite promptly and says "boys". Sigh...I'm sure one day when she's grown with a family of her own we'll laugh about it but for now, I'm nervous.

I have been going to the temple every week for the last seven months. Danika started going weekly a couple months ago doing baptisms. One week I'll do a session and the next day Kevin will take Danika to do Baptisms. Then the next week we switch. Most weeks I just sit, watch, read and wait for her to be done but this week I did baptisms with her, it was great. Growing up as a youth I maybe went twice. The temple was two hours away. Kevin has been able to help confirm and other times help with the baptisms. I hope she continues her love of going to the Temple.

Funny kids

Kids say funny things. I wish I would have recorded more of the funnies our kids have said over the years. Tonight just before FHE, the topic of us being able to be like God and create worlds came up. Luke said "I'm going to create a world of Monsters. Monsters that give ice cream to everyone." How random is that? It made for a good laugh though.

School and cookies

Danika started 7th grade. Andrew 5th, Luke 3rd and Jacob 1st. BriLynn will be starting preschool at the beginning of Sept. It's crazy to me that I'll only have one child with me for a few hours of the day.  

 Today we also had a cookie party to kick off the school year. I got the idea a year ago from my awesome friend Kristy. The kids and Moms had fun. Even when the cops showed up ha ha. There was a little boy who came home with Jacob. He told me he asked his mother before he walked home with Jacob and she said it was okay. Well apparently he didn't or maybe he did the cops didn't know where his mom was either. The dad reported him missing to the school. He wouldn't let the cops take him home so they had to call his Dad to pick him up.Very interesting day.

Thoughts

I have been reading a lot of Merrilee Boyack's books lately. One of my friends suggested I read "Strangling your Husband is Not an Option." You should have seen Kevin's face when he read the title he he. When I looked it up at the library I decided to place her other books on hold. They have been so insightful.
 I wanted to write down some of my thoughts and things that stood out to me. In her book "Toss the Guilt and Catch the Joy" she talks about how we as women compare ourselves. "It is strange to think that probably every one of us has been judged and compared unfairly, and yet we still continue to do it to ourselves and others."
She mentions how we may notice someone got a new car and we may feel bad about our old one. Someone has a great new dress on and looks like she lost weight and we criticize ourselves for a failing diet. We listen to great Sunday School lesson and think of how we struggle with teaching a basic lesson. Then we go to RS and see so many great women and we feel inadequate.
What we don't realize  is that the family got a new car because theirs got totaled, the payout from the insurance was lousy. The sister lost weight because her father passed away and the new dress was for his funeral. The teacher for Sunday school has a father who teaches at BYU and gave him amazing files on the course subject. In RS there's a sister who is struggling with her son; one dealing with health problems, another dealing with the past of an abusive first marriage.
We walk out of church feeling bad about ourselves. "I'm not as slim as Mary", "I'm not as talented as Joann" etc....
 I find myself comparing myself and I need to remember that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are the only ones who can make righteous comparisons. They know the truth about each one of us. What we desire and hope for. We don't know what people go through.

I love how she mentions that Pride can go both ways. One sister may say "Well I was the RS Pres, always had my children and myself dressed neatly and on time to church" In her heart she is critical of others. Another sister may say  "If I had money like that family I could afford nicer clothes." In her heart she covets what others have. Both are being prideful in different ways.

I want to work on this. I know there are times I compare, criticize and judge. I don't need to look at others for what I should be doing or becoming, I need to look upward. We as women are our best enemy. We constantly put ourselves down. "I should have done this," "I could do better at that," "I'm lousy at this." etc... I know that's not what my Heavenly Father wants me to do. I need to work on ME and not worry or compare myself with others..

Aside from that I was called to be the Secretary for the Stake Relief Society. I'm excited for this calling, I'll be working with some great women.

We also had our first broken bone in the family. Poor Luke broke his leg. They did a CT scan and MRI and he needs to have surgery. We will be going to Primary Childrens next week.

FUNNY/update

Danika said something tonight that made me giggle and I had to write it down so I could remember it.
Danika: I don't want to toss the dollar.
Me: What?
Danika: You know...toss the dollar?
Me: (thinking hard, it clicks) You mean pass the buck?
Danika:Ya


 The kids have done swimming lessons and tennis lessons. I may put them in another swimming session in August but for now I'm enjoying the break, piano is the only thing we have weekly. Danika goes to girls camp in a few weeks. I know she will have a ball and I know I will miss her. I guess a perk to being the Bishops wife is that we are always invited up for dinner one of the nights so, we will still be able to see her. She is also getting fitted for braces next week. Andrew and Luke will be going to their scout day camps next month.
The kids have enjoyed our summer activities. They get excited  and ask me daily what we are doing.
I hope I can be the kind of Mother they deserve. I need to work on keeping my voice in a lower tone. With eight people in the house the noise level can quickly elevate. It has helped to go to the temple. I'm so glad to have a temple close. I made it a goal to go weekly through the Summer  I'm sure I will still try when school starts back up but as for now I'm going to the 5:30 session on Wednesday mornings. It's been tough to wake up at 4:30 to be to the temple by 5 but worth it. I'll have to find another time to go when school starts since the kids leave at 7:50 for school and I don't get home till 7:40ish.
Jonathan is potty trained now. I'm excited that we don't have to buy anymore diapers.
BriLynn is as ever a little girl. She loves to dress up in dresses and be a princess.
Jacob is doing well in Piano although I have found I wouldn't be a good piano teacher as I get impatient quickly when he practices. Luke and Danika are doing well in Piano as well. Kevin is busy with his calling and work. He has enjoyed playing racquetball with some coworkers a few times a week. He likes his job and that is always a blessing. I don't know if I wrote before about it but he switched companies last October. He's still a Senior software engineer, the cutest computer nerd I know. As for me I keep busy with the kids. I do enjoy my weekly workouts with my friend Trudy. Plus the freedom to shop alone with Danika here to babysit has been great.

Summers Here WOO HOO

Swimming lessons have begun and so has our Summer Schedule. The kids loved the Spy training with yarn.(cheap and fun) I worked up quite a sweat stringing it throughout the entire house.  I gave them code names and their mission and let them have fun. I'm glad that tomorrows candy kabobs won't be as exhausting. Yeah for Summer!

I've Made a Vow

As I left the grocery store today I made a vow. First I curse the person who made the little carts for  kids to use. If I had maybe one child with me and there were no other shoppers in the store it wouldn't be so bad. Alas, how do you tell a 2 year old he can't use one when you let his 4 year old sister? The carts aren't quiet and neither are kids. Add that to the freedom it gives them to roam and your asking for a headache. So here I am with my two  helpers  kiddos and we  meet a couple people on our journey. 
The first guy is is an older white haired gentlemen who is awesome. He stands and watches the kids adoringly and tousles Jonathans hair. I could tell he just wanted to pick him up and give him a hug. Smiles and tells me how cute they are. The kids were laughing and acting like they were in a race (so not the quietest), begging to get the next grocery item I picked up.
Now onto the next person. This woman was not as old as the gentleman but her actions were quite different. At one point the kids got in a traffic jam and blocked the isle. I told them to move so she could get through but a two year old doesn't move that fast when he's stuck. I got over to help and her actions spoke louder than words. She just stood there acting disgusted that the kids were in her way. No "hey sweetheart could you try to move". Just a look of disgust and impatience. They kids were not hurting anything they just happened to be stuck.
So here is my vow:      I'm not going to give children a demeaning look like they just broke a precious figurine. I know people have bad days but it's amazing how much it affects others when they take their frustrations or crankiness on others. I'm going to be like the older gentleman and look at children for what they are, angels. Angels with miniature race cars grocery carts. Now the kids didn't notice their reactions or I doubt they even care, but I care. I vow to be a HAPPY OLD LADY!!!

THEN and NOW

THEN:

When I had my first baby I expected Mothers Day to be a day off. A day when I didn't have to CHANGE a diaper at all or COOK. I would be SHOWERED with GIFTS and PRAISE. I expected to get breakfast in bed and that I wouldn't have to lift one dish to CLEAN. I could sit, RELAX and just be SERVED all day.

NOW:

After six kids and 13 Mothers Day's I know I'm the one that needs to CHANGE.

It's a privilege to COOK for my family. It's an accomplishment  to have SHOWERED 

before the kids wake. GIFTS will come and go but the PRAISE I can give will last in the hearts of my children forever. It's not about making sure everything is CLEAN, I need to RELAX and play with the kids. Knowing that I've done my best and SERVED the best I can as a Mother.

Summer Schedule 2013

I started doing Summer schedules for the kids about four years ago. The older kids were at a fun age, Danika was eight and Andrew was six. When I was a kid I remember being bored a lot through the Summer and so I wanted to have something on hand for them to do. I also have feel better to have spent that time with them and  I hope they feel the same. I want them to look back on their Summers at home and remember the fun times they had with Mom. Before we do the activity the kids have to first finish all their chores, piano lessons, math practice (yep I'm a mean mom and make them do Math homework through the Summer), and do 20 min. of reading.  It's nothing fabulous just an activity a day but it's something all the kids can do. HAVE A FUN SUMMER!

Westwood Summer Schedule Nonperishable shopping list for 2013 activities

Things to hang onto:

Plastic yogurt container lids

Toilet paper rolls

Egg carton’s

Home Depot or Lowes: ½” PVC pipe and connectors for marshmallow guns. While there pick up Paint chip cards/ sample swatches for the peacock activity. Spray paint (optional)
If you see a number by the item it's used for 2 or more activities

Yarn
Kabobs
Chewy candy for kabobs

Wax                  
Liquid starch
Clear glue (2)

Food coloring
Balloons (4)
String/thread

Glass vase gems
 Play dough
   Pom poms

Corn starch (2)
Baking Soda
 Assorted felt

Washable paint
Pipe cleaners
 colored drinking straws

Plastic pony beads
 Wood beads  
 Google eyes

Elmer’s glue  
 Borax
 red, white and blue star garland
Craft dowel rods
Red, white and blue paper  
 Popsicle sticks

Bird seed
Knox gelatin (2 envelopes)  
Wax paper (if you don’t have it)
¼ cup dried fruit (raisins)
  Sidewalk chalk  
Black construction paper

Q-Tips      
 Candy (For June 25^th) optional
  Kool Aid (variety of colors)

Lemon lime soda
  Water marbles
   Fly swatter (Dollar tree)

Shaving Cream
Colored Feathers
  Construction Paper

Craft foam
  A Black Light
 Fluorescent paint (assorted colors)

Perishable Grocery shopping List

June 14: Strawberries, bananas, chocolate chips, flour tortillas, peanut butter, cinnamon, sugar.

June 24^th: Strawberries, lemonade.

July 11^th: Marshmallows (mini)

I couldn't figure out how to put the calendar on here as the program I used was Word Starter so If you want the calendar form just send me your info and I can mail it to you.  Here are the list of activities. For some crafts the directions are in the Link listed.

June:

Spy Training with yarn

Make Candy kabobs with a bunch of chewy candy.

Volcano in a mug: Layer Wax, sand, and water. Then heat till wax boils like a volcano.

Make Slime:1 1/2 cups of clear glue and 1 1/2 cups liquid starch. Add food color

Science experiment: Watch as the blue and yellow water travel up the paper towel, making  its way into the empty cup to make green water.

Blow up 10 balloons.  Number them from 1 to 10. Hide the balloons throughout the house. Have children work as a team to find the balloons in order

Do an Act of kindness for the Postman. With notes to thank him or a treat.

Make suncatchers with lids, glue, and glass gems

http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/16045/glass-gem-sun-catcher-craft

Make Wacky Sacks http://www.somewhatsimple.com/wacky-sacks/

Make yummy snack together

http://www.acedarspoon.com/strawberry-banana-peanut-butter-chocolate-quesadilla/

Nature scavenger hunt. Gather things to glue onto a collage

Make craft clay

http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Easy-Craft-Clay.html

Make caterpillers out of egg cartons

Make Balloon people by gluing felt pieces onto balloons

Paint your creations from clay made on Tues.

Make strawberry lemonade popcicles

Make pipe cleaner ninjas

http://frugalfun4boys.com/2013/04/01/pipe-cleaner-ninjas/

TP roll paint chip peacock

http://tpcraft.blogspot.com/2011/06/toilet-paper-roll-paint-chip-peacock.html

Make super balls http://makingmemorieswithyourkids.blogspot.com/2011/05/homemade-super-balls.html

Have teams and create treasure maps. First team to find the other teams treasure wins. http://tangarangblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/tuesday-kid-craftparty-craft.html 

July:

Make star wands

http://la-lashomedaycare.blogspot.com /2011/07/4th-of-july-star-wands.html

Visit the ZOO J

Make stars out of popsicle sticks or jumbo sticks.

http://www.planetpals.com/ craft_recycle_flag.html

Build your own rocket and launch with Stomp Rocket

Sidewalk paint http://shareandremember.blogspot.com /2011/06/cornstarch-sidewalk-paint.html

Don’t forget to Go to 7-11for free slurpees onthe 11th

Make marshmellow shooters

http://www.momscraftyspace.com /2011/05/marshmallow-shooters.html

SPLASH PAD J

Make a birdfeeder in the shape of a star

Make your own bird feeders http://learning.innerchildfun.com /2013/02/hanging-shape-bird-feeders.html

Make Squeeze bottle pancake art for snack

Sidewalk chalk Pictionary

Make Q tip fireworks

http://formulamom.com/qtip-fireworks-craft/

Write thank you letters and buy some candy or other treat to give to neighbor or primary teacher

Make puffy paint

http://getyourmesson.blogspot.com /2011/09/puffy-paint.html

Make a magic potion with kool aid ice cubes

http://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com /2011/10/magic-potion/

August:

Color rainbows and

Find a sunny spot, inside or out.  Hold a glass of water above a piece of white paper and watch as the sunlight passing through the glass of water bends and forms a rainbow on the paper.

Play with water marbles maybe mix some in shaving cream for a different sensory play.

Balloon volleyball. Use fly swatters to hit them

Get colored feathers and create your own birds on construction paper.

Make egg carton fish http://www.crafty-crafted.com/category/animal-crafts/fish-animal-crafts/

You have to scroll half way down the page to find the craft.

Learn some clapping games at http://funclapping.com/ and try perfecting a few

Shaving  cream water fight

Make stuff from old TP rolls

http://www.easy-child-crafts.com/preschool-spring-crafts.html

Make a movie. Write a story together and your own characters

Create a masterpiece by using Sidewalk chalk on the tramp

Glow in the dark fun

http://www.growingajeweledrose.com /2013/01/glowing-rainbow-water.html

Take dog to the dog park. If you don’t have an animal maybe consider visiting the local humane society.

Make a treat and a note to give to your teacher tomorrow J 

 School begins

First day of school Cookie Party

Westwood Financial Contract and Uh oh!

Kevin was reading in an ensign from the 80's that talked about allowance and children. It suggested having kids learn the value of money by paying for their own clothes. We have thought it out and came up with this contract. We already had an allowance in place but it was a dollar a week which wouldn't be enough for them to pay for their own shoes, clothes, backpacks etc. They did get paid more if they mowed the lawn or babysat but we wanted a set amount weekly. With this contract, part of Andrew's chores are to mow the lawn, Luke does the weed-eating and Danika is required to babysit 2 hours a week. If she does more than she will be paid extra for her time. We hope that the kids will learn how to manage their money wisely. The younger 3 will still be payed with mommy and daddy bucks but when they turn 8 will move to the contract.
We started at the beginning of last year keeping track of the older kids amounts in transaction registers. I  usually keep them and write amounts but I like that the kids can see what they have and why something has been subtracted (ie. leaving toys out that go to the mommy and daddy buck store, or for not completing a chore). They can cash out when they want it.

 I hope we are teaching them to be responsible for the money they are given and now that they have to pay for their own things will learn the value of it.
Here is what our contract says.

WESTWOOD FINANCIAL CONTRACT

We the mother and father of the Westwood household designate a portion of our income to our children. The following rules and guidelines apply.

Each child will receive half their age weekly in dollars.

It is a requirement to have chores completed and completed well to receive the full amount.  The following deductions will apply:
-$.50 for every required nag to complete task
-$1.00 for every chore undone

2. Child is required to pay 10% in tithing and 10% to savings.

3. Child is required to buy own clothes, gifts for friends or family and to pay their own way into activities when invited by friends (ie. rollerblading, jump zone).

4. Lying about completing a chore will be a forfeit of weekly allowance and extra chores will be applied.

5. Items left out in areas other than bedrooms (ie. shoes, backpacks) will be placed in the Mommy and Daddy buck store and can be retrieved for $.25 cents.

6. Clothes left on the floor at anytime will be considered a chore undone and is subject to the $1.00 fee as stated above.

7. Chores halfway completed will also be considered as a chore undone.


By signing this contract you agree to the terms and conditions stated and agree to comply.


_______________________      
Child's signature
_________________________                                                        Parent's signature

As to the Uh oh.... I had a neighbor come over to have me cut his hair. While cutting his hair BriLynn decided to cut hers. AHHHH So I had  to cut it short in order to blend in what she snipped off.  

It's nice that she has naturally curly hair, it makes the shorter part blend it better.

So that is the second time she has cut her own hair. Hopefully we are done with that :)